Audio/Video Chat → Re: In the market for an HDTV

The higher-end models are pretty much the same across retailers, but the big-box stores usually have lower-end custom models made just for them so that they can avoid the direct comparisons with their advertised specials. If you are going to try price matching, you need to compare the exact same model.

You might take a look at the middle tiers, especially the end-of-year/new model season stuff, since that is where they fight the most. I've had pretty good luck with previous year model closeouts - last years higher-end are this years middle.

Just to clarify that, they definitely do not manufacture different models, they simply give them slight variations in the model number. Sometimes it's nothing more than adding a "WM" to the end of the model number (encountered that with some baby items, e.g. stroller, high chair, etc when I wanted Target to price-match it). I also own a Samsung BD-P1590 Blu-Ray player from Walmart while even Samsung's own website pretty tells you it's really their BD-P1600.

The innards are most likely the same, but if it is a different model number then the product has to be different, otherwise you will run into price fixing or false advertising issues. Usually it is something simple like a cheaper remote or bezel/stand or something, but the manufacturing run would still be different.